Froggy wrote:which has nothing to do with a 10 game winning streak in march.

I'm just aggravated that if we don't win every game, people start blame-throwing and complaining about everything. and when we DO win every game, they worry about whether or not we peaked. it's one of the more asinine trends on this board right now.

the last couple streaks ended with some very ugly play. it may have just been coincidence or it may be that chasing history screws with their game. i don't think it's as much about "peaking" as it is developing bad habits during a period where they're affected by circumstance. but again...maybe it's coincidence. either way, when this streak ends, they'll still have a few weeks to get back to normal. no worries.

Did the Pens commit dumb penalties last night, or were the Caps diving as much as it appeared from my row Q level seats in the upper bowl? I saw that NHL network thought the boarding call on Cooke was weak, and I even wondered if Ovie sort of launched himself into the corner upon contact to draw that call? And the legs seemed to come out pretty straight on some of the tripping calls. I haven't had time to see the game replay and wondered the perception of those who watch on TV.

I love how the defense is playing. This is the sixth straight game the Pens have played a simpler, more conservative game, starting with the 6-1 win vs NYI, through which they've allowed a total of six goals.

The biggest difference is patience. Prior to the last six games, the Pens seemed to have a much greater sense of urgency to get the puck out of their zone and into the attacking zone before the opposition could setup. This resulted in a lot of broken neutral zone plays, turnovers, and icings; in addition to great offensive chances. Now, the Pens pass the puck back more, skate it out more, and maintain better positioning to recover from turnovers.

I did notice this game the Pens were experimenting a little more with longer breakout passes to mixed results.

It seems to me that the Pens have gone back to the drawing board with the goal of adding the pieces of the previous system back in where it makes sense. I hope they maintain the conservative approach.

The Pens need Malkin to buy-in when he returns. He cannot continue to turn the puck over as he was. While I blamed the previous system for making many players look worse than they actually were, I think that he was actually making a lot of bone-headed decisions: too many behind the back passes, 1vsMany and such. Perhaps he had too much fun freestyling in front of friends and family in Russia.

Biggest difference lately, I think, is that they're possessing the puck more. They've been doing a lot more cycling in the other team's end than they were doing earlier in the season. Even before that rough patch last month, I thought there was way too much end-to-end play, too much creating offense only on the rush. There's still a few instances where it bothers me - late in the game, I believe this was after the Pens were up 2-1, Kunitz tried an east-west pass going into the Washington that resulted in a turnover and rush the other way. It was totally unnecessary and I wish they would just make the simple play always in those situations. But that stuff has definitely been a lot more rare than it was.

They looked like this last year, pre-Crosby. My only concern is that the structure and discipline blows up again when Malkin returns. That's the only challenge I need to see them pass. Otherwise, they're looking like a much more serious contender right now than they have at any other point this season. It's been about a year since they went this many games without giving up three or more goals. As it turns out, that ended shortly after Crosby came back last March.

If they're "peaking" so be it. The team's goal is to play at their best all season long and win as many games as possible. They're finally doing that. Winning the Stanley Cup is usually a mix of skill and luck...rarely can you predict how the playoffs are going to go, for even the best teams. I understand critically evaluating the teams weaknesses but this winning streak is not one of them...just enjoy the ride...

Looking at the standings and their recent schedule, the Pens are winning the games they are supposed do. Hell the Atlantic Division is so weak right now. The Pens are 14 points in front of the 2nd place Rangers who currently have the 8th seed in conference.

They aren't peaking. They are simply winning games they are supposed to win.

Idoit40fans wrote:

MarioLives wrote:Is this a team peaking too early, or a team that is learning what it takes to win any type of game? I think it is the latter. They have too much skill to peak, as long as they work hard and comply to their system I think the sky is the limit.

Reminding me a lot of last year. I think they are peaking too early. I'm getting ready to go on rants about how they're going to cool off before the playoffs and flounder out of them, just like I did last year. Its not good. Hopefully Letang and Malkin return to the lineup and round into form in time for the playoffs to start and they can keep things rolling.

midd wrote:Looking at the standings and their recent schedule, the Pens are winning the games they are supposed do. Hell the Atlantic Division is so weak right now. The Pens are 14 points in front of the 2nd place Rangers who currently have the 8th seed in conference.

The effective lead is 10 points on NYR (assuming they win games in hand), 12 on Devils (same), 13 on Isles (same) and 15 on Flyers (same), but point well taken. Pretty healthy lead for 17 games to go.